This Globe story gives a balanced and realistic look at bike sharing in Paris and its potential in Boston. Allston and Brighton would seem to be an ideal place for it, with many younger residents and many people in apartments, many popular destinations a short distance away, and multi-family houses where owning and storing a bike might not be convenient.

The manager of the Paris bike share believes that bike-share in Boston "must cover the whole city, not just the city center, with a station every 250 meters." That's a lot of stations - for example, Brighton Ave is 1,000 meters from Union Sq to Packard's Corner. Can you imagine 5 bike-rental stations in that stretch at the intersections with Allston St, Harvard Ave, and Chester St?